Out of the Fire
by The Devil's Favourite Demon
Summary: Sometimes it's impossible to explain attraction. You just have to go with it and see where it leads you. For AJ Lee and Kane, truer words have never been written.


**Chapter 01**

* * *

"I hate Raw Roulette!" AJ Lee shouted, mostly to herself, as she ducked under Natalya's arm and threw a punch of her own at Kaitlyn's head. She air-mailed the shot and paid for it when Natalya came back on her and drilled an elbow into her temple. She went down with a shriek, arms flailing wildly.

Stunned by the blow, AJ lied flat on her back in the center of the ring as Natalya and Kaitlyn battled over and around her. It took a second for her mind to clear, and as soon as it did, she rolled toward the side, trying to get out of the way. She was just in time, as Kaitlyn picked up Natalya and suplexed her down where AJ had been a second before.

Away from the action, AJ was able to take a second and gather herself. Using the ropes, she pulled herself back to her feet and surveyed the action in and around the ring. As much as she hated it, she had to admit the roulette wheel had set up a pretty exciting match. A mixed Triple Threat tornado tag match. She just wished she wasn't in it. It was hard to keep track of everything, and as the smallest person in the match, she had to be constantly on guard. It wouldn't take more than a wrong step and her own partner could accidentally take her out.

Fortunately, it hadn't taken long for the three men to spill out of the ring and start brawling on the floor. They'd remained out there for most of the match, seemingly content to let the Divas figure things out in the ring.

From her position on the ropes, AJ had a decent view of the action on the outside. As she looked on, her partner, Sheamus, back body dropped a charging Randy Orton onto the announce table. Before he could capitalize on his advantage, Kane came in from the side and caught him by the throat. As he lifted him up for a chokeslam, Orton rolled off the table. Sheamus came down through the table, and Orton immediately jumped on Kane, driving the bigger man to the ground.

AJ's attention was pulled back into the ring then as Kaitlyn let out a shriek and speared Natalya right in the center of the ring. As she bent down to make the cover, AJ hurried forward and stomped hard on the back of her head to break it up.

The next five, ten, fifteen minutes flew by in a blur of pain, rage, and concentration. AJ took a few good hits, but made up for it by dishing out more than her fair share of punishment to both of her opponents. She hit Natalya with an arm-drag that catapulted the blonde Diva into the ropes, then turned and planted Kaitlyn with a snap DDT. At one point, she just avoided a spear, dropping down at the last second and sending Kaitlyn head-first into the turnbuckle with a drop toehold.

When her moment finally came, AJ recognised it immediately. After hitting Kaitlyn with a powerslam, Natalya took a second to rest on one knee next to her downed opponent, even as Kaitlyn rolled over onto her stomach and tried to crawl away. AJ saw her spot and nailed Natalya with a Shining Wizard, sending the blonde Diva crashing down on top of Kaitlyn. The impact stunned both Diva, and neither moved.

With both set-up like that, AJ darted toward the ring-post and quickly climbed up to the top. She balanced precariously there for a second, then stood up to her full height. She tensed for a brief moment, then took a deep breath and got ready to jump.

Unfortunately, focused as she was on her two opponents in the ring, AJ had lost track of what was going on with the men. Just as she was about to leap, Randy Orton came flying out of nowhere and collided with the ropes. The sudden movement caught AJ off-guard and she lost her footing. She felt herself slipping and started flailing wildly as she searched for a way to steady herself. But there was nothing there and with a shriek, she fell backwards off the top of the ring-post. There wasn't a lot of time to brace for impact, but AJ did the best she could. With her eyes pressed tightly closed, she tried to fall so she wouldn't crack her skull open on the ground.

But the impact never came. Instead of hitting the hard ground, she felt herself land heavily in somebody's arms. The sudden stop was jarring, but even with the distraction, she recognised her saviour before her eyes even opened. The too-warm temperature of the arm hooked under the bend of her knee was a dead giveaway.

"Careful," Kane said, voice little more than a growl as he lowered her to her feet.

AJ just nodded, more than a little shaken up by her close call. Before she could Kane for his good timing, he whirled around and delivered a kick to the face of the on-rushing Sheamus, sending the big Irishman careening back into the barricade.

The sudden reminder that she was in the middle of a match drew AJ's attention back to the two Divas in the ring. Both had already started to stir again, she noted, as she rolled back into the ring. "Time to end this," she said to herself, face set in a serious expression.

Kaitlyn was the first to rise back to her feet, a second after AJ got back into the ring. Before the larger Diva could fully recover, AJ ran toward her and hit her with a dropkick, dead in the center of her back. The unexpected blow sent Kaitlyn stumbling forward, where she tripped and rolled out of the ring. When she turned back around, Natalya was back up as well, facing the other way. Before the blonde Diva could turn, AJ jumped on her and locked in the Black Widow submission hold. Still a little foggy from earlier, Natalya resisted for maybe twenty seconds before tapping out.

The next few minutes were chaotic. AJ heard the bell ring and the referee held her hand high in the air. She heard her name and Sheamus' as the pair were announced as the winners of the match. Then the ref abruptly pulled away and slid out of the ring. She turned to see what was going on and watched as he attempted to break up the brawl that was on-going between Kane, Sheamus, and Randy. Before all three men could turn their attention to the much smaller ref, several more guys in striped shirts arrived and peace was finally restored.

With that taken care of, AJ figured it was time to leave the ring. She rolled out and headed up the ramp, trying to take stock of her various injuries as she went. Her head was still sore from the elbow she'd taken, and her ribs weren't feeling great after a suplex from Natalya. But nothing seemed too bad, so she counted herself lucky.

When she reached the top of the ramp, AJ paused for a moment to pose for the crowd. She raised her hands in triumph and the crowd roared their approval. Even as sore as she was, she couldn't keep the smile off her face at the great reaction. They popped even louder as Sheamus started up the ramp toward her. He was limping badly, and had a nasty gash over his eye, but his smile was wide and he was clearly soaking up the adoration as much as she was. When he drew even with her, they both stood there and posed for a second.

"Good job, lass," he muttered to her, out of the corner of his mouth. "You did good out there. Real good."

"Thanks. I—" She cut off suddenly and winced as a sharp pain suddenly shot through her ribs. "Sheamus, do me a favour?"

"What's that, lass?"

"Next time Maddox books a match like this, remind me to kill him," she dead-panned.

Sheamus let out a snort at that, then grabbed for his own ribs. "Ah, don't make me laugh, AJ. Jesus. You're right, though. He does this again, I'll help you string the dumb bastard up."

The pair held their victory poses for a few more seconds, then turned and made their way back through the curtains. As soon as they were through, Sheamus stumbled over to a steel chair and collapsed into it. Concerned, AJ went to follow him, but he waved her away. "Don't worry about me, lass. I'll be right as rain come tomorrow morning." He paused as one of the medical personnel wandered over and started poking around his ribs. "Enough of that now, fella." He shove the man away and refocused on AJ. "You go and get yourself looked after, yeah? I'll see you around."

"All right," she said, already turning away. "Thanks, Sheamus."

The walk back to the Divas locker-room took longer than it normally did. While AJ was certain she wasn't too hurt, she didn't want to risk it. Sore ribs sucked, and she didn't want to have to suffer with them any longer than absolutely necessary. So she took her time and didn't hurry. By the time she got back to the locker-room, Kaitlyn was already there. The two exchanged glares but neither said a word as AJ grabbed her clean clothes and headed into the back to take a shower.

Twenty minutes later, feeling a lot better than when she first came in, AJ headed back out into the main locker-room. She always felt better after a shower, something that was even more pronounced after a drawn out, hard-fought match like the one she'd just been involved in. The hot water had taken a lot of the fire out of her injuries, most of which had faded to a tolerable, dull ache. She was feeling good, the exhilaration of the win shining through now that the pain had been muted. Even the sight of Kaitlyn sitting there didn't dampen her mood too much.

The two Divas continued to ignore each other as AJ started gathering her stuff together, getting ready to leave. She usually liked to stay 'til the end of the show, if for no other reason than to watch all the matches. But after the night she'd had, all she wanted to do was go back to her hotel room and collapse.

A sudden knock on the door drew both Divas' attention suddenly. The door cracked open a second later to reveal the familiar face of the Raw General Manager, Brad Maddox. He scanned the room quickly and broke into a grin when he spotted AJ and Kaitlyn. "Ah, good to see you're both still here! Great match, ladies. Absolutely awesome! Congratulations!"

AJ smiled at the praise, but seeing Maddox just reminded her she was still a little pissed at him. "Thanks, Brad. Is that all you wanted?"

"No, actually. I have some good news." He looked over to Kaitlyn. "For both of you."

Both Divas perked up at that. Almost reflexively, AJ's gaze darted over to Kaitlyn. The other Diva was staring intently at the General Manager, curiosity written all over her face. AJ looked back to Maddox when he said, "As you both probably know, there currently is no number one contender for the Divas Championship. There's also no number one contender for the Intercontinental Championship."

AJ had to fight to keep her expression neutral at that. She thought she knew where he was going.

Maddox paused and grinned at them. "After watching your match tonight, I think I've come up with a solution for both those issues. Next week on Raw, you and Sheamus are going to team up again, AJ. Against Kaitlyn and Kane. Whichever one of you four scores the pinfall or submission will become the number one contender for either the Divas or IC title, depending on who it is. The following week, the members of the winning and losing teams that aren't involved in the decision will face off in a singles match. Whoever wins that will become the number one contender for their respective championship." He let that hang out there for a second, then asked, "What do you ladies think? Interested?"

Interested wasn't the word AJ would have used. Elated. Excited. Eager. All those were much more fitting. She knew she was grinning ear to ear and she didn't care. She was potentially one match away from a title shot. How much better could it get.

"I love it," Kaitlyn stated, and AJ could hear the same anticipation in the other Diva's voice that she was currently experiencing.

"Me too. Great idea, Brad." She was suddenly finding the lingering resentment she'd been feeling toward the General Manager for the night's match was gone.

"Good," he said, "good. Well, I'll leave you ladies to it. Good luck out there next week." With a final wave, he turned and disappeared down the hallway.

For a moment after he left, there was only silence. Both Divas were frozen to the ground, minds busy envisioning what it would feel like when they had the Divas Championship wrapped around their own waist. AJ was the first to come back to reality. As soon as she did, she grabbed her bag and headed for the door. Sharing a casual rivalry with Kaitlyn was one thing, but now they were both in heated competition for the same thing. The last thing she wanted to do was get in a fight now and chance an injury or something that could take that potential title shot away. So she avoided temptation and got out of there before something bad could happen.

As she made her way toward the parking garage, AJ waved goodbye to a bunch of WWE employees that were scattered around the building. Most of them congratulated her on her victory earlier, but she didn't chat long with any of them. They could see she was tired and just wanted to get some rest.

After a brief conversation with Rey Mysterio, who caught her just as she reached the arena doors, AJ was all set to leave. But as she headed for the door, she caught movement out of the corner of her eyes and turned to look. It was Kane, making his way in her direction from down another hallway. Struck by a sudden urge, she paused and waited for him.

It was a little strange to see him in jeans and a t-shirt, AJ decided as she watched him approach. But the mask was still firmly in place, and for some reason, she found that comforting. Probably the familiarity of it. As far as she knew, he never took it off. She imagined it probably earned him some stares when he was out in public, but who was going to say anything to him?

Kane seemed lost in his own world as he stepped up to the door. At the last second, he seemed to suddenly notice her standing there and stopped short.

"Hey," she said, tilting her head to the side and looking up at him.

"AJ." He inclined his head slightly in greeting.

"Did you hear about the match next week?" she asked after a moment of silence. He was staring at her, unblinking, and it was a little disconcerting. It wasn't like she'd never been alone with him before, but there was something about him, something intense in his eyes that never seemed to fade.

"Yes. Good luck," he said. Ever a man of few words, he reached for the door handle, apparently deeming the conversation over with.

Before he could disappear through the door, AJ moved. She wasn't sure what made her do it. Maybe instincts, maybe reflexes. Either way, she grabbed his arm. There was no way she could make him stop if he didn't want to, but he instantly froze at the touch and turned back toward her. "Sorry," she said, suddenly nervous. "I, uh, I wanted to say thanks for earlier. When you caught me, I mean. That was..." She trailed off, then laughed nervously. "That was close."

_What the hell is wrong with me? _she asked herself as she stared up at him. _It's Kane. You've kissed him in front of thousands of people before.  
_

She tried hard not to think about how that was different. How she'd been completely focused on the situation with Daniel Bryan and CM Punk then. How her mental state had been compromised and nothing at the time had seemed real to her. How it had all felt like a game or a movie, something happening to someone else.

"Oh," Kane said, the tiniest sliver of surprise in his voice. If she didn't know better, she'd have sworn he'd completely forgotten about the whole thing.

Before he could turn away again, and before she could over-think it, AJ stretched up and pressed a brief kiss to Kane's cheek. "Thank you," she said solemnly as she pulled away. "Really. I appreciate it."

For a moment, they both stood there, staring at each other. Kane was so still, AJ thought he'd stopped breathing. "Goodnight, AJ," he finally said. Then he turned and disappeared through the door.

AJ stayed rooted to the floor for several minutes after he left, staring at nothing. She wasn't sure what had just happened, and no matter how much she replayed it over in her mind, she just couldn't quite figure it out. "Oh well," she eventually said to herself, shrugging her shoulder as she did. "Something to puzzle over when I'm a little less exhausted." Then she shouldered her bag and headed through the door.


End file.
